Nutating propeller pump



May 23, 1967 R. ROY, JR

NUTATING PROPELLER PUMP Filed Oct. 5, 1965 A SM INVENTOR ROBERT ROY, JR.

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent M 3,320,896 NUTATING PROPELLER PUMP Robert Roy, Jr., 257 Langmaid Lane, Bradford, Pa. 16701 Filed Oct. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 493,040 Claims. (Cl. 103--94) This invention relates to fluid displacement devices and more particularly to fluid displacement pumps employing nutating propellers.

Typical nutating pumps of the prior art employ a nutating piston in the form of a disc which is fitted closely within a spherical chamber and which may be formed with a slot to receive a vane which reciprocates therein. Such pumps rely upon positive fluid displacement action, are limited to small inlet and outlet openings, and require critical fluid seals to ensure their proper operation. The present invention is directed to a pump which does not rely upon positive fluid displacement action and which, therefore, does not require complicated seal arrangements. The pump of the present invention is intended primarily for the displacement of non-compressible fluids, such as heavy drilling mud. Its operation is based upon the action of a propeller which nutates and rotates, and upon the cooperative action of a plurality of such propellers.

In particular the present invention is an improvement on my US. Patent No. 2,897,761 issued Aug. 4, 1959, which discloses a fluid displacement pump including propellers mounted for nutation or wobbling motion in a chamber having an inlet side and an outlet side. In this type of pump the sides of the chamber offer some resistance to the displacement and flow of fluid therethrough, and complicate the construction thereof.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel fluid displacement device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a unique pump which does not rely upon positive fluid displacement for its pumping action.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fluid displacement device having a novel feeding and throwing action that aids in preventing settling out of suspended matter.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pump which does not require complicated seals.

The foregoing and additional objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal view of the propeller pump of the present invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partly sectional View of the pump.

With more particular reference to the drawings the illustrated embodiment of the pump includes a drive shaft 12 which is provided with a suitable driving means 11. A motor or some other driving arrangement may be connected to shaft 11 such as a pulley and belt or gear drive 11'. Mounted for rotation with shaft 12 is bevel gear 13 which is coupled to bevel gear 16 by intermediate or reversing idler gear 14. Idler gear 14 is mounted for rotation on shaft 15 which may be fixedly mounted. Bevel gear 16 is mounted on sleeve 17 which is coupled to sleeve 18 so that bevel gear 19 mounted on sleeve 18 and bevel gear 16 mounted on sleeve 17 both rotate in the same direction which is opposite to the direction of driving means 11 and shaft 12.

Drive shaft 12 is coupled to one end of shaft 22 by means of coupling unit 20, it being noted that the axis of shaft 22 is at an angle to that of drive shaft 12. Shaft 22 is formed of two parts which are splined together and has bevel gears 22a mounted for rotation about its axis 3,320,896 Patented May 23, 1967 and disposed at the ends thereof. These gears 22a are both keyed to sleeve 22' and they rotate together. One of the gears is coupled to bevel gear 19 by intermediate or reversing idler gear 21 and the other is coupled by intermediate or reversing idler gear 24 to bevel gear 25a. The other end of shaft 22 is coupled to shaft 25 by coupling unit 23, it being noted that the axes of shafts 22 and 25 are at an angle to each other, and that neither of these axes is parallel to the axis of drive shaft 12. The shaft 25 has mounted thereon a sleeve 25 on which the hub 27 of propeller'26 is mounted so that propeller 26 and sleeve 25' rotate together with gear 25a.

The other end of splined shaft 25 is coupled to splined shaft 30 in a similar manner as the coupling of the above-mentioned shafts by bevel gear 25a, intermediate or reversing idler gear 29, coupling unit 28, and bevel gear 30a. The shaft 30 has mounted thereon a sleeve 30 on which the hub 32 of propeller 31 is mounted so that propeller 31 and sleeve 30' rotate together with gear 30a. The axis of shaft 30 is at an angle to that of shaft 25 and also to that of drive shaft 12 and all the shafts are connected to rotate together and thus effectively form a single shaft.

In a similar manner the other end of shaft 30 is coupled to shaft 35 by bevel gear 30a, intermediate or reversing idler gear 34, coupling unit 33 and bevel gear 35a. Shaft 35, in turn, is coupled to shaft 3 8 by bevel gear 35a, intermediate or reversing idler gear 37, coupling unit 36 and bevel gear 38a.

By this arrangement when the pump is supported at its ends as by bearing means 39 and 40, shaft 38 and drive shaft 12 lie along the same longitudinal axis and rotate in the same direction while the axes of shafts 22, 25, 30, and 35 are at angles to this longitudinal axis. The axes of shaft 22 and sleeve 30' which elements rotate in the same direction are parallel to each other and are thus both disposed at the same angle with respect to the longitudinal axis. The axes of sleeve 25 and shaft 35, which elements rotate in an opposite direction from elements 22 and 30, are parallel to each other, and at a different angle to the longitudinal axis than elements 22 and 30.

The arrangement described above has a short shaft 9 mounted in each of the coupling units and about whose axes the various idler gears may rotate. The shafts form an integral member and are thus fixed to the coupling units. The gears rotate with respect to the shafts on which they are mounted as do the sleeves.

In the operation of the apparatus, the drive shaft 12 may be rotated in a predetermined direction by a source of power applied to driving means 11. By means of the several coupling units propeller 26 is: caused to rotate about the axis of shaft 25. At the same time shaft 25 and propeller 26 are caused to nutate or wobble about a center located at the intersection of the axis of shaft 25 and a longitudinal extension of the axis of drive shaft 12. The shaft 25 will thereby describe a pair of cones having their epic/es opposed at this center of nutation and their longitudinal axes along the extension of the axis of drive shaft 12.

In its nutation shaft 25 carries with it the coupling unit 28 which joins shafts 25 and 30. This coupling unit thus describes a circle thereby causing shaft 30 and propeller 31 to nutate about a center located at the intersection of the axis of shaft 30 and a longitudinal extension of the axis of drive shaft 1'2. The rotation of shaft 25 about its axis is imparted to shaft 30 through coupling unit 28 and idler gear 29 and this causes propeller 31 to rotate about the axis of shaft 30 as Well as to nutate 0r wobble. If desired additional propellers with similar motions may be added. Thus elements 12, 20, 22, 23, 25,

3 28, 30, 33, 35, 36, and 38 rotate as a unitary shaft having angled section. With suitable gearing propeller 26 rotates at the same speed as shaft 12 but in the opposite direction, while propeller 31 rotates in the same direction as shaft 1'2 but at three times the speed. If desired more propellers could be mounted on elements 22' and 35.

The wobbling action of the propellers is transmitted to a fluid and this wobbling action together with the rotary motion of the propellers agitates or churns the fluid and urges it toward a desired end of the unit when the drive shaft 12 is rotated in the proper direction. It will be noted that the violent churning action which can result through the operation of the pump of the present invention is particular-1y beneficial in the pumping of any fluid which may contain solid particles suspended therein. This action prevents the particles from settling out and clogging the pump mechanism.

The apparatus of the present invention is subject to numerous variations. For example, other drive means and other propeller means may be employed. The speed of successive units may be made to dififer, for example, by utilizing gear reduction units in place of the 1 to 1 coupling units illustrated. Moreover, in some instances it may be desirable to use merely a single propeller unit. The invention is not limited to a mud pump but may be employed for other purposes. While there has been described herein what is at present considered a preferred embodiment of the invention, it 'will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the essence of the invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that the exemplary embodiment is illustrative and not restrictive of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims, and that all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be included therein.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the type described, a first rotatable member mounted for rotation about a first axis, a second rotatable member mounted for rotation about a second axis forming a predetermined angle with said first axis, a third rotatable member mounted for rotation about a third axis forming a predetermnied angle with both said axes, a fourth rotatable member mounted for rotation about a fourth axis parallel to that of said second member, a fifth rota-table member mounted for rotation about a fifth axis parallel to said third member, a sixth rotatable member mounted for rotation about the same axis as said first member, propeller means mounted on said third and fourth members, and means coupling said members whereby there may be imparted to said propellers both a rotating and a nutating motion.

2. In a device of the type described, a unitary shaft formed of a plurality of shaft sections, a plurality of elongated rotatable members each rotatably mounted on and coaxial with a shaft section, a first group of said members being rotatably mounted on and coaxial with a shaft section, a first group of said members being rotatable about a horizontal axis, a second group of said members being rotatable about axes at angles to the horizontal axis, propeller means mounted on selected members of said second group, means for supporting only said first group of members for rotation, and means coupling said plurality of members for imparting to said propeller means both rotating and nutating motion.

3. In a device of the type described, a drive shaft, means supporting said drive shaft for rotation about a longitudinal axis, a plurality of elongated rotatable members driven by said drive shaft, propellers mounted on selected ones of said plurality of members, and means coupling said plurality of members for providing said propellers with both a rotating and nutating movement, said coupling means being the sole support for said plurality of members.

4. In the device of claim 3, said coupling means comprising gear trains connecting said plurality of members for opposite rotation.

5. In a propeller pump of the type described, a plurality of elongated rotatable members, propellers mounted on selected ones of said members, means supporting the first and last members for rotation about a longitudinal axis, and means coupling said remaining members for rotation about axes other than said longitudinal axis, said remaining members and said coupling means being selfsupporting and arranged to provide rotating and nutating motion to said propellers.

6. In the pump of claim 5 said coupling means comprising gear trains connecting said remaining members for rotation in opposite directions.

7. A propeller pump comprising: a plurality of rotatable members having longitudinal axes, the axes of adjacent members intersecting at a predetermined angle;

means providing a support for only the first and last of said members; propeller means mounted on selected members other than the first and last; and means coupling said other members for imparting thereto both rotation and nutation motions.

8. A pump as in claim 7, said coupling means comprising gear trains connecting said other members for opposite rotation.

9. A pump as defined in claim 7 wherein said coupling means is arranged to rotate adjacent members with respect to each other about their own axes.

10. A pump as defined in claim 7 comprising a unitary shaft formed of several sections, each section being disposed within and coaxial with a rotatable member which it supports.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,897,761 8/1959 Roy 10394 DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner. H. F. RADUAZO, Assistdnt Examiner. 

1. IN A DEVICE OF THE TYPE DESCRIBED, A FIRST ROTATABLE MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A FIRST AXIS, A SECOND ROTABLE MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A SECOND AXIS FORMING A PREDETERMINED ANGLE WITH SAID FIRST AXIS, A THIRD ROTATABLE MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A THIRD AXIS FORMING A PREDETERMINED ANGLE WITH BOTH SAID AXES, A FOURTH ROTATABLE MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A FOURTH AXIS PARALLEL TO THAT OF SAID SECOND MEMBER, A FIFTH ROTATABLE MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A FIFTH AXIS PARALLEL TO SAID THIRD MEMBER, A SIXTH ROTATABLE MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT THE SAME AXIS AS SAID FIRST MEMBER, PROPELLER MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID THIRD AND FOURTH MEMBERS, AND MEANS COUPLING SAID MEMBERS WHEREBY THERE MAY BE IMPARTED TO SAID PROPELLERS BOTH A ROTATING AND A NUTATING MOTION. 